It started with a walk
past a soccer game in Subiaco. A coffee van parked at the boundary had a more
captive audience than the footy game, and as Mark and Shelley Balinski passed
by, they felt they’d landed on a business idea they could take with them to
their new home in the southwest.
That encounter was 15 years ago and in the interim two complete novices in the coffee world have created a Yallingup institution … the iconic “red coffee van” at Slippery Rocks carpark, Pronto Cino.
“It was never our original
plan to be based at a beach-front location,” says Shelley. “We thought we’d park
the van in the middle of the wineries along Caves Road as there were few coffee
options between Margaret River and Dunsborough at that time. However, after
months of research, the logistics and rules and regs had us realise that we
needed to look at other options.”
While mobile services
are a hugely popular asset to communities now, they were fledgling businesses
in the early noughties and there was much to be ironed out with local councils
to pave the way for smooth operation.
“When we finally settled on basing ourselves in coastal spaces that had no facilities,” says Shelley, “the council only permitted a trading time of two hours per location per day. We spread our day across the Dunsborough foreshore, Meelup and Yallingup but it was a challenge as we lost so many trading hours travelling between locations.”
As councils began to
realise the asset of mobile facilities, they have become more receptive to mobile
vendors being part of the landscape. And that’s effectively what Pronto Cino
has become.
“When we first started operating at Yalls,” says Mark, “the Seaside development had only commenced so there were no cafe facilities at all. For a couple of years, we operated daily in the main car park”.
2008 Mark & Shelley Pronto Cino coffee van owner operator’s main car park Yallingup WA. Shelley pic.
“It was during that time that we really connected with the Yallingup community and so when the development, including the new café, was complete and we had to relocate at least 300m away, we reluctantly moved to Slippery Rocks.
2012 Pronto Cino coffee van Slippery Rocks car park Yallingup. Bruce King pic.
“We thought no-one
would walk the extra distance and that we’d be constantly battling the elements
in that location. We were sure we’d lose so much of our trade. It turned out to
be the best move ever!”
As existing customers
welcomed the new location, Pronto Cino’s reputation continued to grow. The
business now has a committed following of locals and regular visitors, as well
as those who seek out the van based on its reputation. Not only does it have
the most enviable outlook to the Yalls surf break, but Mark and Shelley serve
up a pretty fine brew.
2020 Pronto Cino coffee van (bottom right) overlooking the bay at Yallingup. Bruce King pic.
“What we love most about the van is the people it attracts,” says Mark. “We’ve created a hub where everyone’s relaxed and it’s easy for people to get to know each other. Some of our closest friends have been made around the van, and I think there are a lot of our customers who can say the same.”
Photo Gallery – Pronto Cino ‘red coffee van’
2008 Mark & Shelley in main car park Yallingup for Yal Mal surfing event. Loz Smith pic. 2010 Coffee catch up with friends at Yallingup. Shelley pic. 2010 Mum’s coffee break at Yallingup. Shelley pic. 2010 Recycled teenagers Barry Day and Stewart Bettenay at Yallingup. Loz Smith pic. 2012 Kim Standish ‘chewing the fat’ with other coffee lovers at Yallingup. Jim King pic. 2013 Scottish actor Ewan McGregor and Mark at Moore River WA. Shelley pic. 2014 Coffee on the coast at Yallingup. Jim King pic. 2014 Loz Smith coffee fix at Yallingup. Jim King pic. 2015 John Moore & Sharon enjoying the view at Yallingup. Jim King pic. 2016 Julie Fullerton (Vic), Mark and Tina Wilson (Geraldton) at Yallingup. Jim King pic. 2018 Steve Carr and Kiwi (Ian Beniston) modelling different editions of Pronto Cino limited release t-shirts at Yallingup. Shelley pic.
Shelley – “These t-shirts display two different designs by artist Simon Mclean which then launched our “famous” brown paper bag art competition” 😊
2020 Dean Beeby & his dog Squizzy with Rick Derrickx and others at Yallingup. Jim King pic. 2020 Bruce King, Baz McKinnon, Ian ‘Prive’ Morris, Prive’s dog Winnie, Jim King, Mark and Anne at Yallingup. Bruce King pic. 2020 Local pranksters Ian ‘Mitch’ Mitchell and Steve Carr with Mitch’s dog Maggie at Yallingup. Steve Carr pic. 2015 Pronto Cino coffee van framed by a rainbow on a bleak day at Yallingup. Shelley pic.
Thanks Mark and Shelley, for your SDS contribution and friendly coffee hub at Yallingup. 😊
It started with a walk past a soccer game in Subiaco. A coffee van parked at the boundary had a more captive audience than the footy game, and as Mark and Shelley Balinski passed by, they felt they’d landed on a business idea they could take with them to their new home in the southwest.
That encounter was 15 years ago and in the interim two complete novices in the coffee world have created a Yallingup institution … the iconic “red coffee van” at Slippery Rocks carpark, Pronto Cino.
“It was never our original plan to be based at a beach-front location,” says Shelley. “We thought we’d park the van in the middle of the wineries along Caves Road as there were few coffee options between Margaret River and Dunsborough at that time. However, after months of research, the logistics and rules and regs had us realise that we needed to look at other options.”
While mobile services are a hugely popular asset to communities now, they were fledgling businesses in the early noughties and there was much to be ironed out with local councils to pave the way for smooth operation.
“When we finally settled on basing ourselves in coastal spaces that had no facilities,” says Shelley, “the council only permitted a trading time of two hours per location per day. We spread our day across the Dunsborough foreshore, Meelup and Yallingup but it was a challenge as we lost so many trading hours travelling between locations.”
As councils began to realise the asset of mobile facilities, they have become more receptive to mobile vendors being part of the landscape. And that’s effectively what Pronto Cino has become.
“When we first started operating at Yalls,” says Mark, “the Seaside development had only commenced so there were no cafe facilities at all. For a couple of years, we operated daily in the main car park”.
“It was during that time that we really connected with the Yallingup community and so when the development, including the new café, was complete and we had to relocate at least 300m away, we reluctantly moved to Slippery Rocks.
“We thought no-one would walk the extra distance and that we’d be constantly battling the elements in that location. We were sure we’d lose so much of our trade. It turned out to be the best move ever!”
As existing customers welcomed the new location, Pronto Cino’s reputation continued to grow. The business now has a committed following of locals and regular visitors, as well as those who seek out the van based on its reputation. Not only does it have the most enviable outlook to the Yalls surf break, but Mark and Shelley serve up a pretty fine brew.
“What we love most about the van is the people it attracts,” says Mark. “We’ve created a hub where everyone’s relaxed and it’s easy for people to get to know each other. Some of our closest friends have been made around the van, and I think there are a lot of our customers who can say the same.”
Photo Gallery – Pronto Cino ‘red coffee van’
Shelley – “These t-shirts display two different designs by artist Simon Mclean which then launched our “famous” brown paper bag art competition” 😊
Thanks Mark and Shelley, for your SDS contribution and friendly coffee hub at Yallingup. 😊
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